How to book the New Zealand Great Walks
Last updated on November 28th, 2025 at 08:40 am
Heard about the walks but don’t know how to book the New Zealand Great Walks? Don’t worry – its relatively easy and I will take you through step by step!
First things first!
Hiking is called tramping in New Zealand. A hiker is a tramper. You go tramping, or go on a tramp to xx. (Just so you know!)
And please read the next section “things to know” before you skip to the “How to Book” section. It might save you a lot of hassle, or even your life.
Things to know before you book the New Zealand Great Walks
A few other (not critical) things
How do I book a New Zealand Great Walk?
When can I book New Zealand Great Walks?
Things to know before you book the New Zealand Great Walks – definitely read this if its your first time hiking in NZ!!
- All the Great Walks have good transport services so you can get to and from the ends of the walks to the nearest major towns using these.
- All of the walks can have extreme weather at any time of year – you must be prepared. People do die even on these popular walks – examples here and here. A PLB is a great idea. You can hire PLBs from Macpac and Kathmandu stores.
- People from outside of NZ often underestimate the mountains in NZ as they are not that high. (The highest is Mt Cook at 3,724 metres (12,218 feet).) Do not make this mistake as it has meant many foreign nationals have died unnecessarily in the mountains and hills (as above). A PLB is a great idea.
- DoC have detailed packing and gear lists which are worth checking before you go.
- Do not expect to have mobile coverage on any of these walks. There may be some coverage in a few spots but expect none.
- Huts are provided on each of these walks. All except the Lake Waikaremoana track huts have gas cookers supplied. All huts will have mattresses, a water supply, toilets (long drops or flushing in a few huts), hand washing facilities and a form of heating with fuel available (fire and wood). They may have (a few newer ones) solar lighting, and phone chargers!! Usually there will be a hut warden in the summer season, but not always in the cooler months.
Not all these facilities are available in winter (May to October) so check before you go on the relevant DoC page (google e.g. Milford Track + DoC and the right page will probably be the no 1 – check what is available and what not on that page.) - Most walks also have camping options. If you are camping you cannot use the huts facilities. There will be basic facilities (water, toilets and usually a basic shelter of some sort) at the camp areas. You cannot camp outside of the designated camp areas.
- You need to bring your own food at any time of year. There is no cafe or shop at any of the huts in the National or Forest Parks in NZ. Many people from outside of NZ get caught out by this. Bring food!
- You must carry out all your trash / rubbish. Obviously respect the area you are in and do not leave trash / rubbish behind or throw it in the toilets.
Just a few other (not critical) things…
- One of the Great Walks is not a walk! Its a canoe trip – the Whanganui Journey.
- Some walks are shared with mountain bikers (The Heaphy Track between 1 May and 30 September, The Paparoa Track all year) or kayakers (The Abel Tasman Track).
- All walks have day walk options at each end of the track and some are quite popular – the Routeburn, the Abel Tasman, the Northern Circuit, The Kepler, and Rakiura. It is not a problem, but you will see more people than you might expect at these places.
- Some mad people like to run these walks in a day – you are likely to see them …. as they leave you in their dust.
- Some walks also have events happen on specific days of the year – marathon or crazy fit people type things! The Routeburn has the Routeburn Classic Adventure Trail Run one day in April, the Kepler has the Kepler Challenge in December. The tracks do not close to hikers but you will have about 400 crazy and fit people run past you! Check the dates before you book if this will bother you.
Ok – so how do I book a New Zealand Great Walk?
Once you have decided which New Zealand Great Walk(s) you want to do, go to the Department of Conservation (DoC) Great Walks booking page. (It is a different page from all the other huts and walks in NZ).
- Scroll down a bit – select “List View” and you will see the 11 Great Walks.
- Click the one you want. Then click “Book Online.”
- Fill in the dates you want to book. then click “Search” – you can look at the available spaces before you do this as they are displayed automatically.
- Select your campsites or huts for your dates. Click “Reserve” at the bottom of the page.
- You will be asked to log in or create an account.
- Once you have logged in or created an account, you will be asked for your details for the booking and for payment.
Note: There is a discount rate for New Zealanders but you must carry proof of residence to use this.
You can see in the screenshot below me making a booking for the Abel Tasman Track. A green square is good; green with exclamation mark means get it booked now or you will probably miss out; and pink with a hashtag is a no-go – its full! Of course you can play around with dates and directions to try and get what you want.
Often people change their bookings or have to cancel because of illness or other events. So sometimes you can get free spaces even close to the time you want to go. There are no wait-lists – you just have to keep trying. But often you get lucky so don’t stress completely if things seemed totally booked out!
Note: Some of the tracks do book out really really quickly. The Milford and Routeburn, and one hut on the Paparoa, in particular. So book well ahead if you can!
For example, it is currently November and the Milford is booked throughout the season until it closes for winter on 30 April. The Routebourne has only two possible bookings for one person – one in Feb and one in March until the end of the season on 30 April. And to book all the huts you want on the Paparoa you have to wait until the end of April!
When can I book New Zealand Great Walks?
Each year DoC announce the date they will open bookings for the next season. You want to know what days, what huts and how many people, plus their names ages, nationalities before the date and time that DoC open the bookings. the booking date is announced a couple of weeks ahead of time on the website. It has been in June or July in past years.
Anyway – just keep checking back on that and as soon as you have the date put it in the calendar!
Then sit on your computer at the allotted date and time and get on the system and book straight away. One year I was booking the Milford Track and sat waiting, waiting, waiting and then at 9am boom – it was open. I managed to get my booking – not quite the dates I had wanted, but I got it. The whole season was full within 9 minutes!!
As I say, do not despair as often people have to cancel or change things so you may still get in. (Or you can do a pricey guided walk if you want – they have different huts and its all a lot fancier – but you pay for it!)
In summary – particularly for the Milford, Paparoa and Routeburn tracks – book well ahead. And if you want to walk any of them on school or public holidays – definitely book well ahead.
Note:
Annoyingly the Great Walk bookings and your other (non-Great Walk) walk or hut bookings are not done in the same place. For other walks and huts book here. You have to log into each separately to see all your bookings.
To choose which walk to do, read Which New Zealand Great Walk should I choose?
Finally – a few important links to use when you plan your trip. They are affiliate links, but I use them all for my travels, and if you do too it will help me keep producing this content – and at no extra cost to you. Cheers!
Plan for your trip
Insurance – Click here for travel cover with SafetyWing. Almost any nationality, its ok if you are already traveling, up to 64 years old. Or click here for cover with EKTA – any nationality, any age and its ok if you are already traveling!
Accommodation – book a hotel with booking.com or Tripadvisor, or, a hostel with Hostelworld
Internet – get a highly rated yesim eSim before you go – click here for yours
Tours and Activities – book with Viator, Eatwith, or GetYourGuide.
Buses, trains, ferries and Flights – 12Go is now my first option for this, but for flights you can also find a good deal through Kiwi.com
Car rental – compare prices and get the best deals with Rentalcars.com
Hiking – use AllTrails for online and offline hiking trails – know where you are on the trail!
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Related Posts:
Which New Zealand Great Walk should I choose?
10 great multi-day hikes in the South Island New Zealand that are not “Great Walks”
The 30 best short walks in the North Island of New Zealand
12 great multi-day hikes in the North Island New Zealand (off the beaten path)
The 12 best day walks in the North Island New Zealand (off the beaten path)